Posted September 18, 2023in Stray Thoughts
Many decades ago, Mrs. Gentry and Mr. Halferty put up with an inquisitive kid’s classroom questions about American democracy and the workings of government. I did not imagine back then [...]
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Posted September 11, 2023in Stray Thoughts
Iowa is about as far removed from an ocean as you can get. But this state figures in recent news reports about the U.S. Navy — and not in a [...]
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Posted August 30, 2023in Stray Thoughts
Campaigning for public office is no picnic. Day after day there are speeches, Q&A’s, interviews and the constant need to think before you speak. Candidates eat enough chicken to have [...]
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Posted August 22, 2023in Stray Thoughts
There were more disclosures in recent days in the ongoing saga involving the ethical standards of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court — or, more accurately, the lack of ethical [...]
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Posted August 15, 2023in Stray Thoughts
Deanna Mahoney was like countless Iowa women through the years. She nurtured three children. She worked outside the home to supplement the family income. She loved bowling and mushroom hunting. [...]
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Posted July 31, 2023in Stray Thoughts
Silly me. I thought I had been paying attention to the issues about which Iowans feel strongly. You know, things like inflation, taxes, government spending, the war in Ukraine, a [...]
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Posted July 24, 2023in Stray Thoughts
Around the time the famous movie “The Bridges of Madison County” premiered in 1995, author Robert James Waller was at a book-signing in West Des Moines. Between scribbling his signature [...]
Read More →One of the photographs of my father that I clearly remember appeared on the pages of the Bloomfield Democrat about 60 years ago. Pop was standing chest-deep in a hole [...]
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Posted July 03, 2023in Stray Thoughts
My late friend Paul was a fine Des Moines teacher. I wish the Evans girls had him for history and government. Judging from his ability to entertain me with [...]
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Posted June 27, 2023in Stray Thoughts
These are challenging times for Iowa’s 327 public school districts. They are being watched closely by state officials and lawmakers, by parents and by others in the community. These eyes [...]
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